


Outmaneuvered

by KumoriYami



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M, Family, Happy Ending, Slight Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2016-09-08
Packaged: 2018-08-13 19:29:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7983493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KumoriYami/pseuds/KumoriYami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He knows her well enough to know that she's going to sacrifice herself to stop Grima, but that doesn't mean he and the rest of her family will sit quietly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Outmaneuvered

**Author's Note:**

> Well. I haven't written any Fire Emblem in years. Trying to get back into the FE mindset since I've got a story floating around on FF.net that ive been meaning to get back to since ive gotten a bunch of odd ideas from replaying Awakening and want to try my hand at writing something for Fates.
> 
> Also taken a bit of the script from the game. Thought I should mention that.

His eyes immediately narrow once he sees his wife pull out the Book of Naga. Although the tome itself was the strongest in Robin’s arsenal, and while it made sense for her bring it out given how it was effective against dragons given the situation, Chrom knew that she was… uncomfortable with using it upon finding out the truth about her lineage. Almost as if she thought she wasn’t worthy to wield it given bloodline and the darkness surrounding Grima.

Grima who was her, yet not her at all. Grima was a dragon of darkness and hatred that cared for nothing aside from the destruction of humanity and Naga, whereas Robin was a gentle, kind and loving soul who desired peace and happiness for their family and friends. The differences were of night and day but no one could deny that the woman who practically permeated dark magic they were fighting atop the back of the fell dragon had the exact likeliness of his tactician.

This first sign, would likely be the only and last one he would have as they carefully advanced towards Grima. Robin had planned their formation carefully despite the nonexistent amount of time she had given the circumstances, ensuring that everyone would be able reach one another should a situation arise, but she positioned herself neither too close nor too far away from him, Morgan or Lucina…

Even before Naga had transported them to where they were now, his wife… Robin had not, rather could not have promised _not_ to sacrifice herself in order to put a permanent stop to Grima. While Chrom didn’t like it, even he couldn’t truly argue about the weight of one life against millions… especially since the words came from the woman he loved most. Still… it was unfair to burden one person with such a decision. It wasn’t Robin’s fault that she bore the Mark of Grima, and it certainly wasn’t through any fault of hers that she had the makings to be the vessel of a deranged god. It was the same as condemning someone for their own birth, which was utterly ridiculous!

“Checkmate.” Robin’s voice is soft as she unleashes the spell that sends Grima to his knees just as Chrom reaches her side. Between the two of them, her magic is faster than his sword, and it’s a fact that he can only acknowledge as she smiles at him.

“Robin-!” He knows that look on her face, and while he respects her decision, it doesn’t mean he has to like it. In his heart, Chrom knows that he’s uncertain about how he can even move forward in life without Robin… Her eyes are desperate, pleading… almost as if she wanted to atone for some crime that she had never committed, yet calm.

“...NNGH...AAAAUGHHH...” Grima lets out a pained wail as the supposed god rages at them, and Chrom cannot help but smile as Robin’s gaze breaks away from him to stare down at the weakened dragon. She’s nervous and scared, and rightfully so, but it’s once her eyes turn away does he move. Despite the chaos on the battlefield, there are others who never escape his sight, and like him, they know exactly what Robin plans on doing.

“For once, I'm glad you and I are the same. Now I can give my life to protect those I care for...” Hearing those words, he runs. He runs as fast as he possibly can, and while each step takes him closer, Chrom cannot help but worry that these are the last steps that he’ll ever take, and that they won’t be fast enough as he charges towards Grima.

“Chrom! What are you doing?!” As he passes her, Chrom doesn’t dare to look back at his wife. He knows she processes information frighteningly quickly, and he can imagine her fingers gripping her tome like her life depended on it. He knows that she’ll make a desperate attempt to finish her incantations to cast her spell, trying to kill the dragon before he can, but he also knows, that unlike her who wants to shoulder the weight of the world by herself, he’s not alone in this.

“Mother!” Two frantic voices ring out from behind him, and Chrom cannot help but inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

“Morgan?! Lucina?! What are you?!” The magic from Naga’s tome materializes almost next to Grima, just as he reaches the fell dragon, but Chrom is confident that Morgan and Lucina would be able to throw Robin off and prevent her casting another spell. They had taken into consideration about how magic required both focus and control, and while Robin’s ability to concentrate was excellent, if she was caught off-guard and by those she wouldn’t ever expect, they would have a chance.

“Don’t do it mother, please!”

“Do it now, father!”

“Chrom, please….!”

As Chrom charges with Falcion, he tries not to listen to the anguished plea in Robin’s voice. He doesn’t need to be a mind reader to know that she’s against what he’s doing right now.

The blow he delivers is quick, and while he hopes the end Grima faces is painless as the entity begins to fade, he still can’t bring himself to watch. Regardless of their differences, it was difficult to watch the demise of someone who in a sense was effectively the other, and better half of him.

“...We did it.” When he turns to the rest of his family, Morgan and Lucina are both tightly holding one of Robin’s arms each, and both her sword and tome are on the ground nearby. There are tears in her eyes… tears that he will forgive himself for being the cause of.

“Grima has returned to slumber.” Naga’s ethereal voice echoes around as the other Risen slowly begin to disappear, signalling to them all the signs of their victory.

“You…” Robin’s voice catches slightly as he moves towards her, and he can already see the guilt on her face. “Why..?”

“Don’t blame, father. We came up with the plan together.” Lucina wryly smiles as Morgan speaks up, almost immediately before he hugs Robin with shaking arms. While he wasn’t there yet, Morgan did have the makings of a great tactician, and most of their planning relied on him given his desire to focus on magic whereas Lucina preferred to hone her blade and skill with a lance though she was still capable of using it. “…Please don’t go try and leave us again, mother.”

“I cannot imagine a future without you, mother. Not anymore. You need to live—for me, and for all those who love you.” Lucina’s voice is quiet as she joins her brother in embracing Robin, right as Chrom holds the side of her face, almost uncertain that if she’s still really there.

“Chrom….” Her voice is quiet as their daughter’s and sounds on the verge of breaking as her hand holds his. She knows that she literally means the world to him, and Chrom himself was doing his best to hold back his own tears.

“If you’re not going to be selfish, then we’ll be selfish for you. It’s not right for you to carry the burden of the world alone.” He kisses her like it’s the first and last time he’s ever kissed her since they’ve met before embracing her with the rest of their family, and Chrom is certain that he never wants to lets go. “Not when you have us.”


End file.
